The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

People who know me will know that I always believe in the power of subconscious mind. Since primary school, i have been playing this prank on my friends that plays on the influence your brain have on your body. Simply point your finger very very close to the face of your friends, but not to touch them actually. They will surely have a sensation of you actually touching them and thus feel very irritated and uncomfortable. Their brain is trick into believing you are touching them and thus provides a reaction. You cannot do it on yourself for the obvious reason that your brain cannot trick itself, very much like how you cannot tickle yourself. There have been reports of tests conducted where subjects are hypnotized into believing that they are scalded, and their skin ended up showing signs of actual scalding. Medically they refer to this phenomenon as placebo effect.

Thus i will like to recommend this book that i really enjoy reading. Blink - The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Personally i find it a very good read as it allows you to know more about yourself. How you do not need to be consciously aware of certain things for it to be registered in your mind. How simply reading a passage that suggest old age makes you move slower. How reading the word "yawn" makes you want to yawn. This from a designer's perspective is really priceless, because it means every detail matters, whether you think the users are consciously aware or not. Every feature, detail, colour will influence the behaviour of user and thus must be considered.

This sadly is not a point that everyone in the industry believe in.